Signal Conditioner for Bi-Directional Radio Frequency Signals in a Telecommunications Network

ABSTRACT

A signal conditioning device for conditioning bi-directional radiofrequency (RF) signals in a telecommunications network are provided. The signal conditioning device can allow for the separate conditioning of both downstream and upstream signals in a telecommunication system using a single signal conditioning device disposed at a single location. The signal conditioning device can include first and second line connections and can divide a bi-directional communication signal into downstream and upstream signals. The signal conditioning device can independently condition the downstream and upstream signals using plug-in signal conditioning circuits received into external plug-in sockets.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications networks,and more particularly, to conditioning bi-directional radio frequency(RF) signals communicated over a coaxial cable portion of atelecommunications network.

BACKGROUND

Telecommunications networks, such as networks used by cable television,telephone, and internet services, can provide for communication ofinformation using bi-directional radiofrequency (RF) signals, includinga downstream signal (e.g. a forward signal) and an upstream signal (e.g.a return signal). The downstream signal can carry information from aservice provider's headend to a user device at a user's location orpremises. The upstream signal can carry information from the user deviceto the service provider's headend. To reduce interference, thedownstream signal and the upstream signal can be associated withdifferent frequency bands. For instance, the downstream signal can beassociated with a first frequency band having a bandwidth from 54 MHz to1,000 MHz while an upstream signal can be associated with a secondfrequency band having a bandwidth from 5 MHz to 42 MHz.

Telecommunications networks can communicate RF signals over coaxialcables. For instance, a telecommunications network can include a hybridfiber-coaxial network that uses both optical fiber and coaxial cable.For instance, an optically modulated signal can be transmitted from aservice provider's headend via an optical cable. A fiber optic node canreceive the optically modulated signal and convert the opticallymodulated signal to an RF modulated signal. The RF modulated signal canbe communicated to various locations using, for instance, coaxial cable.The coaxial cable portion of the telecommunications network can involvea trunk and branch configuration, with amplifiers provided at intervalsto overcome attenuation and passive losses of the RF modulated signal.For example, a coaxial cable distribution line can be tapped to createindividual “drop lines” to a user's location or premises.

SUMMARY

Aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will beset forth in part in the following description, or may be learned fromthe description, or may be learned through practice of the embodiments.

One example aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a signalconditioning device for a telecommunications network. The signalconditioning device can include a housing, a first line connection, anda second line connection. The first line connection and the second lineconnection are capable of connecting to a coaxial cable configured toaccommodate a bi-directional radio frequency communication signal. Thesignal conditioning device further includes a first signal path coupledbetween the first line connection and the second line connection. Thefirst signal path is capable of communicating a first frequency bandsignal between the first line connection and the second line connection.The signal conditioning device further includes a second signal pathcoupled between the first line connection and the second lineconnection. The second signal path is capable of communicating a secondfrequency band signal between the first line connection and the secondline connection. The signal conditioning device further includes a firstplug-in socket accessible on an exterior surface of the housing andcoupled to the first signal path. The first plug-in socket is capable ofreceiving a first plug-in signal conditioner circuit configured tocondition the first frequency band signal. The signal conditioningdevice further includes a second plug-in socket accessible on anexterior surface of the housing and coupled to the second signal path.The second plug-in socket is capable of receiving a second plug-insignal conditioner circuit configured to condition the second frequencyband signal.

Other example aspects of the present disclosure are directed to systems,methods, apparatus, and devices for conditioning bi-directional radiofrequency signals in a telecommunications network, such as a coaxialcable portion of a telecommunications network.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of various embodimentswill become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrateembodiments of the present disclosure and, together with thedescription, serve to explain the related principles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Detailed discussion of embodiments directed to one of ordinary skill inthe art are set forth in the specification, which makes reference to theappended figures, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an example telecommunications system according to exampleembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts an example signal conditioning device according toexample embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 depicts an perspective view of an example signal conditioningdevice according to example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 depicts a circuit diagram associated with an example signalconditioning device according to example embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 5 and 6 depict independent signal conditioning of an upstreamsignal and a downstream signal using an example signal conditioningdevice according to example aspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of an example method for conditioning atelecommunications signal according to example embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments, one or moreexamples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example isprovided by way of explanation of the embodiments, not limitation of theembodiments. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and variations can be made to the embodimentswithout departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure.For instance, features illustrated or described as part of oneembodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still furtherembodiment. Thus, it is intended that aspects of the present disclosurecover such modifications and variations.

Generally, example aspects of the present disclosure are directed toconditioning bi-directional radiofrequency (RF) signals in a coaxialcable portion of a telecommunications network, such astelecommunications network associated with a cable television, phone, orinternet service. Coaxial distribution lines associated withtelecommunications networks can be tapped to create individual droplines to a user's location or premises. Depending on the length of thecoaxial drop line and other factors, the strength of downstream (e.g.forward) and/or upstream (e.g. return) signals may vary across theirrespective bandwidths. In general, however, factors that cause signalstrength to vary do not affect the downstream signal and the upstreamsignal in the same manner. For example, the upper frequencies associatedwith the downstream signal may be attenuated at a particular user'slocation while there may be no significant effect on the upstreamsignal. Attempts have been made to correct for variations in signalstrength over a telecommunications network using line conditioners, suchas in-line equalizers, attenuators, etc. However, existing solutions forconditioning coaxial drop lines can require separate line conditionersfor the downstream signal and the upstream signal disposed at differentlocations along the coaxial drop line.

According to example aspects of the present disclosure, a signalconditioning device is provided that can allow for the separateconditioning of both downstream and upstream signals in a coaxial RFtelecommunication system using a single signal conditioning devicedisposed at a single location along a coaxial cable, such as a coaxialdrop line. The signal conditioning device can include first and secondline connections, such as coaxial F connections, that are capable ofbeing coupled to the coaxial cable. The signal conditioning device caninclude a plurality of devices (e.g. diplexers) to multiplex abi-directional RF communication signal received at the signalconditioning device into a first frequency band signal (e.g. the forwardor downstream signal) and a second frequency band signal (e.g. thereturn or upstream signal).

The first frequency band signal can be communicated between the firstand second line connections of the signal conditioning device using afirst signal path. The second frequency band signal can be communicatedbetween the first and second line connections of the signal conditioningdevice using a second signal path. The signal conditioning device caninclude a first plug-in socket (e.g. a JXP style plug-in socket) coupledto the first signal path and a second plug-in socket (e.g. a JXP styleplug-in socket) coupled to the second signal path.

The first and second plug-in sockets can provide for the independentconditioning of the first frequency band signal and the second frequencyband signal. For instance, a first plug-in signal conditioner circuit(e.g. a passive conditioning circuit) can be received into the firstplug-in socket and a second plug-in signal conditioner circuit (e.g. apassive conditioning circuit) can be received into the second plug-insocket. The first plug-in signal conditioner circuit and the secondplug-in signal conditioner circuit can be JXP style plug-in conditionercircuits configured to provide one or more of a variety of signalconditioning effects. For instance, the first plug-in signalconditioning and/or the second plug-in signal conditioner circuit can bean attenuator, an equalizer, a cable simulator, a bridge, or othersignal conditioner circuit.

The first signal conditioner circuit can condition the first frequencyband signal independently of the second frequency band signal.Similarly, the second signal conditioner circuit can condition thesecond frequency band signal independently of the first frequency bandsignal. In this way, the signal conditioning device can provide for theindependent conditioning of both the downstream and upstream signalsusing a single device disposed at a single location in atelecommunications system.

The signal conditioning device according to example aspects of thepresent disclosure can be useful for many purposes. For instance, in oneexample application, the signal conditioning device can be used toindependently condition both the downstream and upstream signals in adrop line of a telecommunications system. In another exampleapplication, the signal conditioning device can be used to condition thedownstream and upstream signals between a coaxial distribution line andsignal monitoring equipment, such as a model used for status monitoringin power supply locations.

According to particular aspects of the present disclosure, the first andsecond plug-in sockets can be accessible on an exterior surface of ahousing associated with the signal conditioning device. As a result, auser or technician can easily install and/or replace various signalconditioning circuits for both the downstream and the upstream signal ata single location, providing an easy-to-use, customizable tool forconditioning signals in a telecommunications system. For example, atechnician can determine at a particular location on a coaxial cable,such as at a drop line to a user's premises, that the downstream signalis need of an equalizer while the upstream signal requires attenuation.In this example, the technician can provide a plug-in equalizer in thefirst external plug-in socket to condition the downstream signal. Thetechnician can provide a plug-in attenuator in the second externalplug-in socket to attenuate the upstream signal. The technician canprovide varying levels of attenuation/equalization by selecting and/orreplacing the particular signal conditioning circuits provided into theexternal plug-in sockets. Other suitable combinations of signalconditioning can be provided without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

With reference now to the FIGS., example embodiments of the presentdisclosure will now be discussed in detail. FIG. 1 depicts an exampletelecommunications system 100 according to an example embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The telecommunications system 100 is a hybridfiber-coaxial telecommunication system. Example aspects of the presentdisclosure are discussed with reference to a hybrid fiber-coaxialtelecommunications system for purposes of illustration and discussion.Those of ordinary skill in the art, using the disclosures providedherein, will understand that the signal conditioning device according toexample embodiments of the present disclosure can be used with othersuitable telecommunications systems, such as purely optical and/orpurely coaxial based telecommunication systems.

The telecommunications system 100 includes a headend 110 associated witha service provider (e.g. cable television or internet service provider)that can provide information using an optically modulated signal to anoptical node 115 via, for instance, a fiber connection. The optical node115 can convert the optically modulated signal into an RF modulatedsignal. The RF modulated signal can be a bi-directionaltelecommunications signal that includes components of both a firstfrequency band signal and a second frequency band signal. The firstfrequency band signal can be a downstream (e.g. forward) signal and thesecond frequency band signal can be an upstream (e.g. return) signal.

The telecommunication signal can be communicated over a coaxial cableportion of the telecommunications system 100, such as over coaxialdistribution line 120 and coaxial distribution line 130. The coaxialdistribution lines 120 and 130 can include amplifiers and other signalconditioning devices to condition the telecommunication signalcommunicated over the coaxial distribution lines 120 and 130. Othercoaxial distribution lines can be provided from the optical node 115without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

Coaxial distribution line 120 can carry the telecommunication signalover a distance to a service location 125. The service location 125 canbe a location where the coaxial distribution line 120 can be tapped toprovide individual drop lines to various loads, such as to a userpremises (e.g. a house, apartment building, business location, etc.).The coaxial distribution line 120 can be tapped at other locations alongthe distribution line 120. The service location 125 can include variousdevices for attenuating, amplifying, or otherwise conditioning the RFmodulated signal carried over the coaxial distribution line 120.

As shown in FIG. 1, coaxial distribution line 120 is tapped multipletimes at service location 125 to create individual drop lines, such asdrop line 122 and drop lines 124. Drop line 122 can carry thetelecommunication signal to a user's premises 150, such as to a userdevice 152 (e.g. a cable modem, cable box, etc.) at the user's premises150. Drop lines 124 can carry telecommunications signals to otherpremises or locales in the vicinity of the service location 125.

A signal conditioning device 200 according to example aspects of thepresent disclosure can be coupled to drop line 122. The signalconditioning device 200 can be configured to independently conditionboth the upstream and the downstream portion of the bi-directionaltelecommunication signal at a single location on the drop line 122, suchas at or near the user premises 150. Details concerning an examplesignal conditioning device 200 will be discussed in more detail below.

Coaxial distribution line 130 can communicate the telecommunicationsignal over a distance to service location 135. The service location 135can be a location where the coaxial distribution line 130 can be tappedto provide individual drop lines to various loads, such as to a userpremises (e.g. a house, apartment building, business location, etc.).The coaxial distribution line 130 can be tapped at other locations alongthe distribution line 130. The coaxial distribution line 130 is tappedmultiple times at service location 135 to create individual drop lines134 to various user premises.

The coaxial distribution line 130 has also been tapped to create a dropline 132 to signal monitoring equipment 160. Signal monitoring equipment160 can be a modem (e.g. a DOCSIS modem) used to monitor various aspectsof signal quality of the telecommunications system 100. As shown, asignal conditioning device 200 according to example aspects of thepresent disclosure is coupled to the drop line 132 to independentlycondition the upstream and downstream signals between the signalmonitoring equipment 160 and the coaxial distribution line 130.

FIG. 2 depicts an example signal conditioning device 200 according toexample embodiments of the present disclosure. The signal conditioningdevice 200 can include a housing 210. The housing 210 can be formed fromany suitable material, such as a metal material. In one implementation,the housing 210 is formed from a material suitable for shielding thetelecommunication signals in the signal conditioning device 200. Thehousing 210 can include a mechanical interface 212 (such as a screwconnection) that allows for removal of an external faceplate 215 of thehousing 210 to gain access to the interior of the signal conditioningdevice 200. The housing 210 can further include brackets 214 and 216 formounting the signal conditioning device 200.

As further illustrated in FIG. 2, the signal conditioning device 200 caninclude a first line connection 222 and a second line connection 224.The first line connection 222 and the second line connection 224 can becapable of connecting to a coaxial cable, such as a coaxial cableassociated with a drop line of a telecommunication system. For example,the first line connection 222 and the second line connection 224 can becoaxial F connections.

FIG. 3 depicts the connection of the signal conditioning device 200 to acoaxial cable, such as a drop line. More particularly, a first coaxialcable 232 can be coupled to the first line connection 222. The externalfaceplate 215 of the housing 210 can include indicia indicating that the“IN” cable connection is provided at the first line connection 222. Asecond coaxial cable 234 can be coupled to the second line connection224. The external faceplate 215 of the housing 210 can include indiciaindicating that the “OUT” cable connection is provided at the secondline connection 222. While the present disclosure refers to “IN” and“OUT” connections to the signal conditioning device 200, those ofordinary skill in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, willunderstand that the nature of bi-directional telecommunication signalscan allow for both “IN” and “OUT” connections to act as an input and/oroutput of the signal conditioning device 200.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the signal conditioning device 200 can includea first plug-in socket 242 and a second plug-in socket 244 accessible onan exterior surface of the housing 210. More particularly, the firstplug-in socket 242 and the second plug-in socket 244 are arrangedadjacent to one another on the external faceplate 215 of the housing210. The first plug-in socket 242 and the second plug-in socket 244 caneach be configured to receive a plug-in signal conditioner circuit, suchas a passive three-prong plug-in signal conditioner circuit. Forinstance, the first plug-in socket 242 and the second plug-in socket canbe JXP style plug-in sockets adapted to receive JXP style plug-in signalconditioner circuits.

A first plug-in signal conditioner circuit 252 can be received orplugged into the first plug-in socket 242. The first plug-in conditionercircuit 252 can be one of a plug-in attenuator, equalizer, cablesimulator, bridge, or other signal conditioning device. A second plug-insignal conditioner circuit 254 can be received into the second plug-insocket 244. The second plug-in conditioner circuit 254 can be one of aplug-in attenuator, equalizer, cable simulator, bridge or other signalconditioning device. The second plug-in conditioner circuit 254 can bethe same type of signal conditioning circuit or a different type ofconditioning circuit relative to the first plug-in conditioner circuit252.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first plug-in conditioner circuit 252 can beselectively plugged into and removed from the first plug-in socket 242.The second plug-in conditioner circuit 254 can be selectively pluggedinto and removed from the second plug-in socket 244. The first plug-inconditioner circuit 252, when received into the first plug-in socket242, can be configured to independently condition a first frequency bandsignal (e.g. a downstream signal). The second plug-in conditionercircuit 254, when received into the second plug-in socket 244, can beconfigured to independently condition a second frequency band signal(e.g. an upstream signal).

As shown in FIG. 2, the external face plate 215 can include indicia(e.g. FWD) associated with the first plug-in socket 242 indicating thatthe first plug-in socket 242 is for receiving a plug-in conditionercircuit for conditioning the forward or downstream signal. The externalface plate 215 can also include indicia (e.g. REV) associated with thesecond plug-in socket 244 indicating that the second plug-in socket isfor receiving a plug-in conditioner circuit for conditioning the returnor upstream signal. Because the first and second plug-in sockets 242 and244 are accessible from an exterior surface of the housing 210, atechnician or other user can easily select and change out signalconditioner circuits for conditioning the bi-directionaltelecommunication signal as appropriate.

FIG. 4 depicts an example circuit diagram for the signal conditioningdevice 200 according to example aspects of the present disclosure. Thesignal conditioning device 200 includes a first line connection 222 anda second line connection 224. Surge protection circuits 282 and 284 canbe included in the signal conditioning device 200 to provide surgeprotection capabilities. The signal conditioning device 200 includes afirst multiplexer 262 (e.g. a first diplexer) configured to multiplex abi-directional communication signal received at the first lineconnection 222 into the first frequency band signal (e.g. the downstreamsignal) and the second frequency band signal (e.g. the upstream signal).The first frequency band signal can have associated with a differentfrequency band than the second frequency band signal. For instance, thefirst frequency band signal can have a bandwidth of about 54 MHz toabout 1000 MHz and the second frequency band signal has a bandwidth ofabout 5 MHz to about 40 MHz. As used herein, the term “about” when usedin reference to a value is intended to refer to within 20% of thespecified value. The signal conditioner device 200 further includes asecond multiplexer (e.g. a second diplexer) configured to multiplex thefirst frequency band signal and the second frequency band signal intothe bi-directional communication signal received at line connection 224.

The first frequency band signal is communicated over a first signal path272 coupled between the first line connection 222 and the second lineconnection 224. The first plug-in socket 242 is coupled to the firstsignal path 272. As discussed above, the first plug-in socket 242 canreceive a first plug-in signal conditioner circuit (e.g. an equalizer,attenuator, cable simulator, bridge, etc.) configured to condition thefirst frequency band signal communicated over the first signal path 272.The second frequency band signal is communicated over a second signalpath 274 coupled between the first line connection 222 and the secondline connection 224. The second plug-in socket 244 is coupled to thesecond signal path 274. The second plug-in socket 244 can receive asecond plug-in signal conditioner circuit (e.g. an equalizer,attenuator, cable simulator, bridge, etc.) configured to condition thesecond frequency band signal communicated over the second signal path274. In this way, the signal conditioning device 200 can be configuredto condition the first frequency band signal independently of the secondfrequency band signal and can be configured to condition the secondfrequency band signal independently of the first frequency band signal.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the independent conditioning of a firstfrequency band signal and a second frequency band signal using a signalconditioning device according to example embodiments of the presentdisclosure. More particularly, FIG. 5 provides a graphicalrepresentation of an example upstream signal 302 and a downstream signal304 with no signal conditioning. FIG. 5 plots frequency along theabscissa in MHz and signal strength in dB along the ordinate. As shown,the upstream signal 302 has a bandwidth of about 5 MHz to about 40 MHz.The downstream signal 304 has a bandwidth of about 50 MHz to about 1000MHz.

FIG. 6 provides a graphical representation of an example upstream signal312 after being conditioned by a 12 dB attenuator pad plugged into theplug-in socket associated with the upstream signal of a signalconditioning device according to example embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 6 further depicts a graphical representation of anexample downstream signal 314 after being conditioned by a 18 dB Forward1 GHz equalizer plugged into the plug-in socket associated with thedownstream signal of the signal conditioning device according to exampleembodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 plots frequency along theabscissa in MHz and signal strength in dB along the ordinate. As shown,the signal conditioning device can provide for the independentconditioning of both the upstream signal 312 and the downstream signal314.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of an example method (400) according toexample aspects of the present disclosure. The method (400) can beimplemented using the signal conditioning device 200 of FIGS. 2-4. Inaddition, FIG. 7 depicts steps performed in a particular order forpurposes of illustration and discussion. Those of ordinary skill in theart, using the disclosures provided herein, will understand that varioussteps of any of the methods disclosed herein can be adapted, modified,expanded, omitted, and/or rearranged in various ways without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

At (402), the method includes receiving, at a first line connection of asignal conditioning device, a bi-directional communication signal. Forinstance, a bi-directional communication signal can be received at thefirst line connection 222 of FIG. 2. At (404) of FIG. 7, thebi-directional telecommunications signal can be multiplexed into a firstfrequency band signal and a second frequency band signal. For instance,the multiplexer 262 of FIG. 4 can multiplex a bi-directionaltelecommunication signal into a first frequency band signal for thefirst signal path 272 and a second frequency band signal for the secondsignal path 274.

At (406) of FIG. 7, the first frequency band signal is conditioned usinga first plug-in conditioning circuit received into a first externalplug-in socket. For instance, the first frequency band signal can beconditioned using the first plug-in signal conditioning circuit 252plugged into the first plug-in socket 242 accessible from an exteriorsurface of the housing 210 of the signal conditioning device 200 of FIG.2. The first frequency band signal can be conditioned using the firstplug-in conditioning circuit in a variety of ways. For instance, thefirst frequency band signal can be conditioned using an attenuator,equalizer, cable simulator, bridge or other conditioning circuit.

At (408) of FIG. 7, the second frequency band signal is conditionedusing a second plug-in conditioning circuit received into a secondexternal plug-in socket. For instance, the second frequency band signalcan be conditioned using the second plug-in signal conditioning circuit254 plugged into the second plug-in socket 244 accessible from anexterior surface of the housing 210 of the signal conditioning device200 of FIG. 2. The first frequency band signal can be conditioned usingthe second plug-in conditioning circuit in a variety of ways. Forinstance, the second frequency band signal can be conditioned using anattenuator, equalizer, cable simulator, bridge or other conditioningcircuit.

At (410) of FIG. 7, the first frequency band signal and the secondfrequency band signal can be multiplexed into the bi-directionaltelecommunication signal. For instance, the multiplexer 264 (FIG. 4) canmultiplex the first frequency band signal associated with the firstsignal path 272 and a second frequency band signal associated with thesecond signal path 274 into the bi-directional telecommunication signal.At (412) of FIG. 7, the method includes receiving, at a second lineconnection of a signal conditioning device, the bi-directionalcommunication signal. For instance, the bi-directional communicationsignal can be received at the second line connection 224 of FIG. 2.

While the present subject matter has been described in detail withrespect to specific example embodiments thereof, it will be appreciatedthat those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of theforegoing may readily produce alterations to, variations of, andequivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the presentdisclosure is by way of example rather than by way of limitation, andthe subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion of suchmodifications, variations and/or additions to the present subject matteras would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A signal conditioning device for atelecommunications network, comprising: a housing; a first lineconnection and a second line connection; a first signal path coupledbetween the first line connection and the second line connection; asecond signal path coupled between the first line connection and thesecond line connection; a first plug-in socket accessible on a surfaceof the housing and coupled to the first signal path, the first plug-insocket capable of receiving a first plug-in signal conditioner circuitconfigured to condition a first frequency band signal; and a secondplug-in socket accessible on the surface of the housing and coupled tothe second signal path, the second plug-in socket capable of receiving asecond plug-in signal conditioner circuit configured to condition asecond frequency band signal.
 22. The signal conditioning device ofclaim 21, further comprising: a first multiplexer configured tomultiplex a radio frequency communication signal received at the firstline connection into the first frequency band signal and the secondfrequency band signal; a second multiplexer configured to multiplex theradio frequency communication signal received at the second lineconnection into the first frequency band signal and the second frequencyband signal.
 23. The signal conditioning device of claim 21, wherein thefirst frequency band signal is a downstream telecommunications signaland the second frequency band signal is an upstream telecommunicationssignal.
 24. The signal conditioning device of claim 23, wherein thefirst frequency band signal has a bandwidth of about 54 MHz to about1000 MHz and the second frequency hand signal has a bandwidth of about 5MHz to about 40 MHz.
 25. The signal conditioning device of claim 21,wherein the first and second line connections are coaxial F connectors.26. The signal conditioning device of claim 21, wherein in the first andsecond plug-in sockets are JXP style plug-in sockets.
 27. The signalconditioning device of claim 21, wherein the first and second plug-insockets are arranged adjacent to one another on the surface of thehousing.
 28. The signal conditioning device of claim 21, wherein thefirst plug-in signal conditioner circuit is received in the firstplug-in socket and the second plug-in signal conditioner circuit isreceived in the second plug-in socket.
 29. The signal conditioningdevice of claim 28, wherein the first plug-in signal conditioner circuitand the second-plug-in signal conditioner circuit are JXP style plug-insignal conditioner circuits.
 30. The signal conditioning device of claim28, wherein the first plug-in conditioner circuit is an attenuator, anequalizer, a cable simulator, or a bridge.
 31. The signal conditioningdevice of claim 30, wherein the second plug-in signal conditionercircuit is an attenuator, an equalizer, a cable simulator, or a bridge.32. The signal conditioning device of claim 31, wherein the firstplug-in conditioner circuit is a different type of conditioner circuitthan the second plug-in conditioner circuit.
 33. A telecommunicationssystem, comprising: a distribution line; a signal conditioning devicecomprising a first line connection and a second line connection, thesignal conditioning device further comprising a first signal path for afirst frequency band signal and a second signal path for a secondfrequency band signal; a first cable coupled between the distributionline and the first line connection of the signal conditioning device;and a second cable coupled to the second line connection of the signalconditioning device; wherein the signal conditioning device comprises afirst plug-in signal conditioning circuit plugged into a first plug-insocket located on a surface of the signal conditioning device andcoupled to the first signal path and a second plug-in signalconditioning circuit plugged into a second plug-in socket located on asurface of the signal conditioning device and coupled to the secondsignal path.
 34. The telecommunications system of claim 33, wherein thefirst signal conditioning circuit is configured to condition the firstfrequency band signal independently of the second frequency band signaland the second plug-in conditioning circuit is configured to conditionthe second frequency band signal independently of the first frequencyband signal.
 35. The telecommunications system of claim 33, wherein thefirst cable and the second cable form at least a part of a drop linebetween the distribution line and a user premises.
 36. Thetelecommunications system of claim 33, wherein the second cable iscoupled to a signal monitoring device.
 37. The telecommunications systemof claim 33, wherein the distribution line is coupled to a headend of aservice provider of the telecommunications system.
 38. A method forconditioning a telecommunications signal, comprising: receiving, at afirst line connection of a signal conditioning device, a communicationssignal from a first cable; multiplexing, with a first multiplexercircuit, the communications signal into a first frequency band signaland a second frequency band signal; conditioning the first frequencyband signal independently of the second frequency band signal with afirst plug-in signal conditioning circuit received into a first plug-insocket accessible at a surface of a housing associated with the signalconditioning device; and conditioning the second frequency band signalindependently of the first frequency band signal into a secondconditioned signal with a second plug-in signal conditioning circuitreceived into a plug-in socket accessible at the surface of the housingof the signal conditioning device.
 39. The method of claim 38, whereinthe method further comprises: multiplexing, with a second multiplexercircuit, the first frequency band signal and the second frequency bandsignal into the communications signal; and receiving, at a second lineconnection of a signal conditioning device, the communications signalfrom a second cable.